studio practice, performativity and the public gaze

Truth be told there has been some printmaking happening around here recently, but not a whole lot. I finally got to the studio last weekend to print some new drypoint etchings. But I'm not overly happy with the results (I messed up quite a few in my hurried attempt to do a lot in a short time) so will take a slightly different approach and print again from the same plates soon.

While the printmaking has been slow, there has been quite a bit of post-PhD-thesis-submission brain tinkering though. I've been thinking (and writing) a lot about the notion of creative practice and performativity, and how this becomes enhanced through the use of virtual tools such as blogs and Instagram to reveal studio practice. I am fascinated with the idea of the public gaze and what this might mean for how artists and designers think about their artist/designer identities.

More soon once I've finished the writing and (hopefully) get it published.

In the meantime, I'd be happy to hear any thoughts you have on this topic.

flora in triptych 2

Flora in Triptych 2 is now finally listed.

I printed this small edition of etchings in April before I went to NY and love the deep richness of those dirty reds. It's a tiny edition of 5 only as with all the messing around involved in inking up and laying three 10x10cm plates exactly on the printing bed, not to mention getting a good print (which means me not bumping that paper before I run it through the press) I would need to be printing for an aeon to have any more. I have a few others from this run that are quite quirky (plates positioned differently) and may list those separately at some point.

What have you been printing?

triptychs and the like

Flora in Triptych - drypoint etching

Flora - close up

Flora - close up

Succulent blossom in dirty blue - drypoint etching

Fragments - drypoint etching

I've been printing! These are recent drypoint etchings I picked up from the studio this morning. They've been there drying under the boards for about 2 weeks. The first one, the triptych, took a lot of painstaking registration work to get those 3 panels inked up and sitting just right. But something in me really enjoyed the challenge. So much so that I have another flora based triptych in the planning stages and if all goes well I'll be printing later this week. Stay tuned!